My father's 1995 J30 qualifies as a clunker and therefore he will be looking for any car getting over 28 mpg to receive the $4500 credit from the government. He tried the new Prius; however, it is almost impossible to get a Prius V with the equipment he wants, and if he were to order it, it could take up to a year to come in. With that being said, the government is only giving a limited number of vouchers for "clunkers" so he needs to act quickly. We looked at the Altima Hybrid which came fully loaded, the Jetta TDI with some upgraded stuff, and the Mini Coopers. The Altima Hybrid was fully loaded: tech package, convenience package.. the works. The Jetta TDI had upgraded 17" wheels, sunroof, and the famous automatic DSG tranny. I drove the TDI and it felt underpowered compared to my 328i xDrive coupe, obviously, but for a gas-saving car, it had some pep. However, the Altima has the greatest discounts and most equipment. The guy, over the phone, took 10k off sticker (34k) because of the tax credit, Nissan's credit, and just old fashioned discounts because they can't move the cars. I need an opinion on what my dad should get. He is going to be paying cash for the car. I obviously think he should go with the MINI Cooper Convertible, but that would never happen unless one of you could help me convince him. I know a lot about cars from being around my dad, who is a car buff, and from reading Motor Trend since I was 7. I'm 17 now and just got my car (328i xDrive coupe), and my dad needs a fuel-efficient car to drive 50 miles a day. Thanks

The one that offered that deal was in El Monte, which is kinda far, but they gave me that $22,295 OTD quote instantly and that was in mid June (that was for a white base hybrid with kick plates and floor mats).

I bought from Surf City Nissan in Huntington Beach. After negotiating I got mine with convenience package for $23,100 OTD. I could also have bought a black base hybrid for $22,200 OTD, but the car wasn't on site (they said they would need to drive it down to HB which would add 80 miles on it). This car is probably still available.

Surf City Nissan was the most competitive dealer in OC (with me anyway). But I had to negociate hard.

Yeah even I am trying to get a Nissan Altima Hybrid But none of the dealers here in Bay area are offering any prices near to that. They are very rude and wouldnt even budge to any negotiations So far the best price that was offered was 21000+ TTL =23000 OTD for the base model .

Hey man, the deal you quote for the Bay Area is pretty standard for what I've been quoted in Sacramento/Davis. Bigger discounts are available on the higher end NAH. A combined discount of $6,000 including $3,750 rebate and discount to invoice of about $2,250 is where everybody's at right now. Don't forget you also get the federal tax credit of 2,350 and a deduction for sales taxes.

If you're including the cash for clunkers rebate, then a total discount of 10K isn't that great. Folks are getting 6,000 combined savings (dealer discount, 3,250 rebate, and 500 rebate), so if you add the cash for clunkers, you'd be at a discount of 10,500. Keep in mind on top of this there is also a tax credit of 2350 and deduction for sales taxes. Everything together you could get 15,000 off of this car when all is said and done. It's a pretty nice car to get at half-off.

Hello quanfire , When you mean discount to invoice of 2250 , do you mean ""invoice price - 2250 "" OR the discount on the MSRP so that "MSRP -2250 ~ invoice " where ~ is almost equal to sign . In my case it is the latter one . if it is discount on invoice , it should go much below.

I did mean the latter one, MSRP minus 2,250 equals approx invoice, minus 3750 in rebates for a total of roughly 6K off. Haven't seen anybody really going under invoice, except for loaded up units with MSRP of 34K.

We purchased the base NAH in June 09 for 23,749 before the rebate. Is that below invoice? After the rebate it was 19,999 plus tax. OTD price before the extended warranty was 22,541. Another poster was able to buy it for $500 less than we were able to.

Keep in mind that was in June 09, a month after May 09 sales were down over 40%. With the June sales figures a little higher it seems local dealers have been offering less discounts.

XAV, Thank you for your response. During 4th July weekend, I've called Nissan El Monte, the internet dept. They were rude when I told them I want to purchase the base NAH for 20,500 plus TTL. They were offering $6000 off MSRP, buy or take a hike...At the end I just got one base NAH (MSRP: $27,625) at Riverside Honda for $21,191 plus TTL. More than what I want to but they were nice to deal with. I was in and out in 1 1/2 hours, no BS. Anyway, I love the car...:)

It may be harder to get a good deal now. They have that cash for clunckers thing that is probably going to boost sales. Dealerships are very hopeful about it. It sucks because except for polluters, nobody is going to get any of it.

For the numbers, I negociated with OTD price from the start, so the only number I am aware of is $23,100. I can try to look into the papers if you want.

The model had 14 miles on it, was loaded with the convenience package and floor mats (nothing else).

I also got good financing (5.99 % from Nissan). Although that may seem high, note that the 2 credit unions where I applied refused to lend me anything.

My salesperson was Phil Barnes. I used the internet for negociations. I had to push hard though. He definitely used a lot of sales tactics (always trying to get me there now, offering expensive financing).. but that's business. What was great with him though is that he kept his promises and didn't try to up the price when we came in. I definitely appreciated that.

From what the dealership told me the only reason they agreed on this price is that they had to meet their monthly quota. So, target EOM.

We are close to the end of the month. If you want the car, you should call/email your local dealers and give them an offer of $19,500 after fees but before taxes and registration. Don't let them fool you with their fees, include them in your price.

Tell them you have seen other people pay that price and don't see why you should spend 10 % more.

Most likely they will refuse, but some may call you back at the end of the month. Those are the ones who absolutely need to sell and you will be able to bargain with successfully.

I paid $28000 on a MSRP of $34,705. take out $3250 Nissan Rebate, most dealers are matching that $3250 plus another $205. This hybrid had EVERYTHING that Altima hybrid comes with including moon roof deflector package. another dealer quoted $28665. Seems like they are not making a lot of money on these cars! both these dealerships are in Hartford area.

If you take a look at http://www.mossynissan.com you'll see that they have 15 2009s and 11 2008s. I'd imagine they want to sell the 2008s more than the 2009s? What will they do with the 2008s once the 2010s come out?

If a 2008 bought today will mechanically last as long as a 2009 and it's a few thousand less, it's something I'd consider. I'm the kind of person who keeps a car for 12 years and put 200K miles on them. Then I donate to PBS when it's worth $1000. If the 2008 with leather and navigation can be had for base 2009 pricing, that'll get me to take a look. My understanding from reading the forums is that a 2010 isn't going to be different from a 2007?

We bought our NAH with an extended service contract that can be canceled for a full refund within sixty days. The catch is that the dealer has to cancel it and submit the paperwork to the warranty company. We are having a tough time canceling ours. The dealer is stalling for some reason, intentional or not, and we have not been able to get warranty canceled after repeated letters, e-mails, and phone calls. I have been assured that we will get a full refund even if it's past the sixty day period. Until I see some actions, it's all words from the F&I guy.

So if you are tempted to buy one and you aren't sure don't because you might run into this problem.